November 28, 2008 08:43am
ACTOR Patrick Swayze has reportedly started saying goodbye to family and friends after learning his cancer has spread to his liver.
The Dirty Dancing and Ghost star, who in January was told he had pancreatic cancer, has started preparing himself for death, reports say
"Patrick recently got word that the cancer had spread to his liver and that is what his doctors said would begin the countdown to the end," a source told National Enquirer magazine.
"Patrick knew it was coming because he was suffering increased weakness.
"At times, he was so weak that he could barely walk without feeling faint. Sometimes he feels out of breath and has to sit down."
Swayze, 56, told Lisa, his wife of 33 years, and his brother Donny that he doesn't have long to live.
"Lisa phoned Donny in Los Angeles and told him he need to come to Chicago, where Patrick has been filming TV show The Beast. She was crying and scared Donny to death," the source told National Enquirer.
"Donny got the impression his brother was already on his deathbed because Lisa was saying Patrick wanted to say goodbye. She couldn't stop crying."
Swayze has been undergoing pioneering Cyberknife radiotherapy at California's Stamford University Medical Centre, and had been making a steady recovery from the illness.
He has finished filming The Beast in Chicago, where he has been putting in 12-hour days. He went to a party earlier this week to celebrate with Lisa and Donny.
He stayed for one-and-a-quarter hours sitting on a couch the entire time, happily talking to people.
Swayze's wife "mingled a little more than Patrick did, leaving the couch to grab a drink or talk to people, but mostly she remained at his side" a source told the US magazine.
"Patrick let the party-goers come to him, never circulating around the room and rarely even standing up, but when others did come to him, he chatted at length with many of them."
In October, his production team reported Swayze had missed only a day and a half of work.
"I'm still fine to work, I haven't changed - oh, I have changed, what am I saying? It's a battle zone I go through. Chemo, no matter how you cut it, is hell on wheels," he told The New York Times.
